Cahill performance proves Chelsea need new defender

On a night where Chelsea fell at the final hurdle in their bid to secure the longest-ever winning sequence in Premier League history, they were found wanting defensively and Gary Cahill was particularly culpable.

It was his inability to press Christian Eriksen for either of Dele Alli's goals which ultimately proved costly to Chelsea and should serve as evidence to Antonio Conte that his Blues side are not quite the finished product just yet despite their incredible run of form.

Failing to credit Cahill's upturn in performances since the switch to a three-man backline in the wake of the defeat to Arsenal earlier this season would be harsh.

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But the win at Manchester City ought to have acted as a precursor for his White Hart Lane struggles given the way he failed to contend with Kevin de Bruyne and Jesus Navas.

Conte was pressed after the game about whether he would consider switching formation again - and while the Italian is unlikely to give up on a system which has proved so profitable, a new central defender would be a welcome addition.

Chelsea have been credited with an interest in the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Simon Kjaer, Michael Keane and Nicklas Sule and Cahill's difficult night may trigger a move for one of that quartet.

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Alonso's night to forget

Prior to this setback, Alonso had won in every Chelsea match he had started.

But just like with the Blues' own recent unblemished record, this was the night it all went badly wrong for the Spaniard as his defensive capabilities were truly called into question.

The warning signs were there from an early stage, with Kyle Walker coming out on top in an early physical tussle and his touch letting him down as he looked to break free down the wing.

That was just the start of a torrid defensive display, in which he found himself frequently isolated against the pace and strength of Walker, while he could not keep a lid on Christian Eriksen's influence.

The fact he was considered the most dispensable member of the starting XI to make way for Willian told its own story as Conte moved Pedro to an unorthodox left-wing-back role.

Alonso wasn't the only player to blame for the two goals, but the problems he faced in shackling Eriksen were unfortunately rammed home and indicated a problem in that area of the Chelsea squad.

Conte's Willian sub came too late

There was brief surprise when the teamsheets were handed out over not only Spurs' decision to go with three at the back, but the fact that Willian had dropped to the bench to make way for Pedro.

The Spaniard merited his place for such a thrilling performance against Bournemouth but fans were frustrated to see Conte fail to address his no-show here until the game had already drifted beyond the Blues will have frustrated the Brazilian.

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He did eventually get his wish, albeit with only 25 minutes remaining and with Pedro lining up as an auxiliary left-wing-back and Eden Hazard and Diego Costa toiling up front, it was a thankless task.

Introducing him in a more like-for-like swap for the peripheral Pedro earlier and being more reactive to a poor opening 45 minutes seemed like an obvious solution after a first 45 minutes in which Chelsea lacked invention in attack.

The sight of Costa rowing with Pedro over his inability to latch onto a through ball was brought into even sharper focus when you consider Willian has benefited from three Costa assists already this term.

Kante comes out second in midfield battle

A sentence you don't often hear but this was one of the very rare occasions in which N'Golo Kante's influence proved minimal.

The Frenchman appeared jaded after the busy festive schedule and was not his usual busy self as the likes of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama stood up and dominated proceedings in the middle of the park.

Kante's performance was by no means a disaster and, frankly, the staggering levels of consistency shown since his move to Stamford Bridge entitle him of all people to an off-day.

But it will still concern Blues fans to have seen him so easily overrun at times by the effervescent but elegant Dembele and the brutal Wanyama.

The calls for Cesc Fabregas to be deployed alongside Matic and Kante when Chelsea are in need of added craft became audible after the final whistle and there was definitely a lack of creative spark in his absence.

Victor Moses has defensive flaws to iron out

Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness was adamant David Luiz was the man to blame for Alli's opening goal but, as it transpired, he was anything but.

Cahill and Alonso have already taken their fair share of criticism for how the left-hand side of this team dealt with - or rather, didn't - Eriksen's movement but Moses was equally at fault.

The Nigerian is by trade a winger and it showed here as Luiz and then Cesar Azpilicueta stepped up to play offside, only to notice Alli had occupied the gap left between the latter and Moses.

Conte has worked wonders with Moses to coax a series of energetic and industrious performances up and down the right flank which belie his previous bit-part player role from the previous managerial regimes.

But the defeat at Tottenham was a steep defensive learning curve, as he discovered when he failed to track Alli's run from deep to head home Spurs' second goal and seal Chelsea's fate on a miserable night.